Then as now, the electors didn’t have to travel to Washington themselves but they met in their home states. By federal law, they then met on the “first Wednesday in December” (Dec. 1, 1852 and Dec. 3, 1856) [cite]. They were supposed to make a list of their votes, which “they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate” (Amendment XII). The results were opened and tabulated in Washington on “the second Wednesday in February” of the following year (Feb. 9, 1853 and Feb. 11, 1857) [cite as above]. That only gives 10 weeks for the certificates to be delivered from California to Washington, in the middle of winter, before the Pony Express, established stage lines, and the Transcontinental Railroad existed.
My guess is the certificates were sent by way of Panama. The Panama Railroad was only partially completed in '52 so the whole trip probably would have taken about 7 weeks from what I’ve read, leaving 3 weeks to spare. Can anyone confirm my guess?
The information probably went quicker overland. The west coast telegraph network reached into Nevada and the east coast network reached as far as Nebraska. So they only needed to physically carry the message by courier across Utah and Colorado.
News traveled by telegraph, but the certificate of the electoral votes is a physical document, bearing the seal of the Governor and the Secretary of State, that had (and has) to be physically carried to Washington.
Here is a summary (PDF) of postal service to California in the 1850’s. Service via Panama came first, but land routes (albeit hazardous ones) were established not long after. I can’t say for sure which method was used in 1852 or 1856; I’m not sure the answer is even documented. I’d bet on service via Panama, especially in 1852, but it’s just a bet.
I don’t think the telegraph could be used for this purpose. I believe they had to transport the ballots (or whatever they called them) physically to Washington.
What about the 1864 and 1868 elections? The Pony Express was around for 1860, but was long defunct by 1864. The transcontinental railroad wasn’t complete until 1869. Also, Oregon became a state in 1859 and they would have the same issue/problem. Were there adequate stage lines in place for those elections?
I don’t imagine they used the public postal services; I assume they used a courier. (Possibly an army courier?) The courier travelled by whatever route was safest and most convenient, provided it wouldn’t take longer than the 10 weeks available.
I don’t know if it matters but California was relatively small back then…4 electoral votes out of 296 and in both cases the elections were lopsided wins for Pierce and Buchanan.
I would have thought an Army courier, myself, in relays, so the ballots were never at rest. Just handed off to the next team of cavalry. Could make it across the empty space pretty quickly.
By that time, both the U.S. mail and passengers were being carried by stagecoach companies. First by the Butterfield Overland (1857-61) which used a southern route. During and after the Civil War, more northerly routes operated by other companies were used. The trip from California to the rail terminals in Missouri took about a month, I think.
I wonder if it’s permissible to send multiple copies, via different routes, in case of mishap? Though I suppose you’d need some procedure for if they both arrived, and said different things.